I see Earth! It is so beautiful!

With so many images of the Earth from space now available, it is perhaps hard to imagine how it felt to be the first person to view the Earth from that perspective. During his 108 minute flight, Yuri Gagarin completed an orbit of the Earth, giving him a unique viewpoint of the Earth as a planet. This aspect raises his flight from an impressive technical achievement to a milestone in human history.

More than 500 humans have now travelled into space, representing over 30 countries. Satellites are now able to show us our home planet in extraordinary detail and tell us much about the way that we are changing it on a local and global scale.

"Circling the Earth in my orbital spaceship I marvelled at the beauty of our planet. People of the world, let us safeguard and enhance this beauty — not destroy it!"

Gagarin’s legacy touches many aspects of our daily lives — from the vital role that space now plays in monitoring our planet and protecting the environment to the technical advances that space exploration has brought to materials science, computing, engineering, communications, biomedicine and many other fields.

Today, the UK and Russia have thriving and innovative space industries. YuriGagarin50 aims to showcase UK and Russian achievements in space science, technology and engineering, highlighting the benefits that these bring.

As this website develops, we will be including more information about current space activities in the UK and Russia, case studies and profiles of key people and organisations.